Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-02-21

! of Us sit down rs though we had consum-
mated our journey, as though we had
come to the final depot, when our stop
ping here is ascompared with our stopping
there rs is
| TWENTY MINUTES TO TWELVE HOURS
yea, as the one bundredth part of
second compared with ten thousand mil
lion yea,s! Would Spain sell us Cuba for
a bushel of wheat? Would England sell
us India for ton of coal? Would Venice
sell us all her pictures for an American
schoolboy's sketch? All. that would be \
better bargain for England, Spain and
Venice than that man makes who gives his
eternity for time. Yet how many there
are who are saying to-day: Give me the
worlds dollars and You may have the
eternal rewards. Give me the worlds ap-
plause and you may have the garlands Of
God. Give NE twenty, or forty, or sixty
years OF worldly successes and don't care
what becomes of the future. am going
into that world uninsured. l take the re-
sponsibility Don't bother me about your
religion. Here l have the two worlds be-
fore me-this one and the next l have
chosen this. Go away from me, God and
angels. and all thoughts of the future"'
But where is Croesus and Cleopatra; and
Aesopas, who had one dish of food that
cost ore million four hundred Thousand
dollars; and Lentulus, who had a pond OF
fish worth a hundred and seventy-iive
thousand dollars; and Scaurus who bought
country seat for twenty-nine million dol
| lars: and Tiberius, who left ut death a
fortune of one hundred and eighteen mil
| lion, one hundred and twenty thousand
dollars? Where are they? IL a windy
dav should blow all the dust that is left of
them into your eyes, il would not make
you wink twice! All, my friends, then
very certainly your comforts of surround
ing cannot keep back the old archer. You
cannot charm him with music, OF dazzell
him with plate, or decoy him with pic
lures, or bribe him with your money.
WHAT Is THE USE
of your struggling for that which you can
not keep? As long rs you have clothes
and food and shelter and education for
yourselves and your children and the
means for Christian generosity, he salts
fled. You worry, and tug, and sweat, and
wear yourself out for that which cannot
satisfy. Whole ilocks OF crows feet on
your temples and checks before they ought
to have come there. You are ten years
older than yen ought TO he, and yet you
cannot take along with you into the future
world even the two pennies on your eye
lids TO keep them shnt after you are dead,
And yet YOU hold on to this world with
the avidity of the miser who persisted in
having his bonds and mortgages and notes
on hand in the bosom of his dressing. gown
while he WAS dying, and in the last mo-
ment held his parchment in such tigh,
grip that the undertaken after death
must almost break the mans fingers in
order 10 get the bonds away. Men are
actually making that choice, while there
are Others who have done far differently
When they tried TO bribe with money
Martin Luther, some one said: "rhere's
no Use trying to do that-that Dutch
beast cares nothing for gold" When they
tried by giving him cardinals hat, I,
bribe Savonarola, he stood up in his pulpit
and cried out: 81 will have no red hat
save that of martyrdom, colored with my
own blood" These men chose Chris
amid great prosecutions; but how many
there are in this day, when Christianity
seems to be popular, who are ashamed o
Christ and not willing 20 take the hard
ships the seeming hardships- His reli
; gion And, alas for them. for long aite
the crash of the worlds demolition the,
shall find that in all these years they wcr,
turning their backs upon the palaces o
| heaven, scrabbling on the door of th
/ worlds treasure house, the saliva of a ter
/ rifle lunacy on their lips-horribly anC
overwhelmingly playing the fool.
Once more, say 10 you that those mel
play the fool who while they admit th,
righteousness of religion, set il down
FOR Future ATTENDANCE.
Do you know how many times the wor,l
"nOwn occurs in the Bible? Over two
hundred times. One Of the shortest word,
in the Bible, and yet one of the grandest in
meaning and ramiiCatiOns. When doe,
the Bible say is he best time TO repent?
Now. When does the Bible say that God
will forgive? Now. When does God say
is the only safe time t0 attend tO the mat
tiers of the soul? Now. But that word
"nOw" melts away * easily rs n snowflake
Il in the evening rain. Where j. the "now'
of the dead Of last year? the nov" of the
dead OF last month? the nov" of the
dead Of last week? the nov" Of the dead
of yesterday? Time picked il mp in it,
beak and flew away with il. Swan
mer,lam and other naturalists tell
us there are insects which within
the space of one minute are born,
fulfil their mission, celebrate their
nuptails, and die but this wonderful
now" is more shOrt-lived than they. II
is flash, q stroke, glance. Its cradle j.
the grave. II men catch it at all, it is
with quick clutch. Millions Of men have
lost their soul immortal because they did
not understand the momentum and the
pOnderOsity of that one word. All the
stategic powers Of hell are eXcrted in try
ing 10 subtract from the energy and EN-
phaSis of that word. They say it il only
a word Of three letters, while there il a
better word OF eight letters-''to morrow. "
They say: Throw away that small word
and take take this other grand one" And
40 men say: Give us tomorrow, and
take away from us now Aud between
those two words il
TIE APPIAS WAY or DEATH,
and n great multitude throng that road,
iostling and clbowing each other, hasten
iDg on swilter and swilteI to die. for
how much wGnld you walk the edge OF ths
roof OF your house? For how much wOuld
you come out on the most dangerous peak
Of the Matterh1rn and wave your cap
You SAY: "No money could induce Inc tG
do it," Aud yet you stand 10 day with
one foot on a crumblIng moment aud the
other foot lifted, not knowing where you
will put it down, while the distance be.
tween YOU and the bottom OF the depth
beneath you no plummet can measure, no
arithmetic calculate, no wing OF lightning
cleaye. And yet, the Bible tells us that
unless q man has new heart he cannot
get into heaven; and some of you are moi
seeking for that new heart In Mexico,
sometimes the ground suddenly opens,
and a man standing near the gap can soe
down an appalling distance. But %! il
to-day, at your feet, there should open the
chasrns of the lo-t world, how you would
fling yourself back aud hold the pew, and
cry: God save me-Dow! now
now ~ greet you to-day, my